Automobile warning-signal



J. H. KAESEN.

AUTOMOBILE WARNING SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I6, 1919.

Patented Feb. 3, .1920.

JULIUS H. KAESEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMOBILE WARNING-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Application filed January 16, 1919. Serial No. 271,389.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS H. KAEsEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Warning-Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a warning signal adapted for use in connection with an internal combustion engine and operated by the escape of gas under pressure in a stream or jet in the proper relationship to a sound chamber. More particularly, my invention involves a sound chamber of predetermined, definite,

vand constant size with the fixed gas outlet also of predetermined size and position in respect thereto, the flow of gas to said outlet being controlled by a rotary valve separate from but adjacent thereto. Whistles or other wind instruments serving as warning signals have heretofore been designed and employed on the end of the exhaust pipe beyond the muffler and other forms have been connected to said exhaust pipe ahead of the muffler, but in all prior constructions with which I am familiar having the fixed volume sound chamber with the predetermined fixed jet outlet, the design has been such that it was necessary to close or obstruct the free normal escape of the exhaust in order to create the desired high pressure necessary for the operation of the signal. This partial obstruction of the escape of the exhaust has increased the back pressure on the engine and has accordingly interfered with its normal operation and cut down its efiiciency.

My improved construction is such that it may be connected to the exhaust pipe or exhaust manifold in front of the muffler, and when not in operation does not in any way interfere with the normal escape of gas through the muffler. When operated, it acts to a limited extent as a muffler cutout, so as to reduce the back pressure on the engine and increase rather than decrease its efficiency. At the same time while sounding, it will automatically indicate to the driver, by its regularity or irregularity of sound whether or not any of the cylinders of the engine are missing fire or failing to operate properly to give full power and full discharge of exhaust gas.

One object of my invention is to simplify the construction and reduce the cost of manufacture of the signal, facilitate the easy and inexpensive attachment of the signal, and render the signal free from all liability of getting out of order, adjustment, or position. The signal is so designed that it may be attached to the exhaust conduit ahead of the muffler by merely cutting a hole in the pipe, which hole need not be of any exact size, shape, or dimension, and the connecting means is such that it works equally well with pipes of various shapes or sizes. At the same. time the construction is such that the signal may be mounted on and connected to one of the engine cylinders so that when in operation it will receive gas directly from the cylinder during the compression and ex plosion strokes of the piston.

In the accompanying drawings to which reference is to be had, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention, although it will of course be evident that changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

In these drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view of a poi tion of an engine cylinder with its exhaust pipe and muffler, and showing my improved device attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section through such a pipe and with my device attached thereto, said section being taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the device with the connecting member and conduit in section, the view being taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the device cletached.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the threaded nipple showing a plan of the connections to the conduit, and

Fig. 7 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3, but showing the device attached to a. spark plug for use directly on the engine.

In the preferred form of my signal, a single casting forms the entire device per 86. As shown, this casting forms a sound chamber 10 of the proper shape, size, and volume, and with an opening 11 to the atmosphere, and an aperture 12 through which the jet of gas may escape in a direction approximately parallel to the plane of the opening 11 or in such relationship thereto that the escape or through the aperture 12 under pressure will cause the device to operate as a whistle. This aperture 12 is shown as a comparatively narrow slot or slit, although it will of course be evident that the aperture may be of other shape, or may be sub-divided into a plurality of separate sections.

The same casting that forms the sound chamber 10 with the apertures 11' and 12 therein also forms a valve casing 13 for a rotary valve This rotary valve has its axis close ac acent to and substantially para lel with the general direction of the length of the slot 12 and is so positioned that by its rotation through a portion of a revolution it controls the escape of gas through said slot. The va ve which is preferably in the form oi a turning plu has an aperture ad )ted to be brought into or out of registry with the slot 12. shown, this aperture of the turning plug is formed by away one side of the plug interate of its ends as shown particularly l i 2 and 5, although it might be in the foiiji of a slot or separate holes through the body of the plug.

The turning plug is preferably tapered and at one end has a coil spring 15 encircling; it with. one end attached to the plug and the other to a stop 16 on the casting. The spring" performs a double function in that it normally tends to rotate the plug to such a position as to close the slot 12 and it tends to pull the valve plug endwise and hold it substantially gas-tight in its slightly conical seat. 1 have illustrated only a slight pitch to the cone, in fact have shown it nearly but not qu'te cylindricahbut it will of course be evident that the extent of taper may be increased or decreased as desired.

The turning); plug;- has at one end thereof a cross bar 17 serving; as a handle or lever. Thisis prett'erably formed integral with the turning plug' and so positioned in respect to a stop 18 on the casting that eitherend oi the lever 17 may engage with the stop and thus limit the rotation to the desired are. As shown particularly in Fig. 1-, this rotation is through approximately 90 and from complete open to complete closed position or" the valve. The spring holds the lever against the stop with the parts in position as shown in'Figs. 2 and 4t while the maximum distance to which the valve may be rotated-5min that position is exactly what is necessary to move the valve to fully open position. Thus the operator need exercise no skill or care in either opening or closing the valve. It is merely necessary to move the valve to the limiting distance in the only direction in which it can be rotated from its normal position. This operating means may be of any desired character or form, In Fig. 1 I have illustrated somewhat diagrammatically an operating wire 19 extending from one end of the lever 17 over one or more pulleys 20 to a point from which it may be conveniently pulled or operated by the driver.

The casting forming the sound chamber and the valve casing also forms a threaded nipple 21 and a hexagonal or other noneircular portion 22, by means of which the nipple may be screwed into the coupling. As previously indicated, the casting also presents the stop 18 for the valve plug lever and the stop 16 for one end of the spring 15. Thus theentire signal aside from the coupling by which it is secured in position, formed of a single casting and a single valve and valve lever. None of these parts need to be machined except the va ve seat. Even the threads on the nipple 21 may in some cases be cast thereon, although ordinarily these would be cut in the usual way.

I have shown the threaded nipple 21 slightly tapered so that it may be wedge" substantially gas-tight into a coupling with a comparatively lew turns and will be rigidly fixed in position. I have also shown the interior of the casting of somewhat larger cross sectional area between the inlet to the threaded nipple and the slot 12 so as to form an expansion chamber 28, tending to somewhat equalize the varying pressure existing particularly when the engine is being run at very low speed. I find from experience that this expansion chamber is an advantageous feature in securing a satisfactory warning; signal sound, although 0bviously such enlarged expansion chamber might be omitted.

For attaching the signal to the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine, 1 provide a comparatively flexible plate 25 which may be bent to fit the curvature of a wide range of exhaust pipes. This plate has a central aperture within which is secured a bushing; 26. The bushing has a flange at its outer end, and may include merely two oppositely extending lugs 27 as shown in Fig. 6. These are designed to extend in the general direction of the length of the pipe and are riveted to the plate 25 along the line of tangency of the plate and exhaust pipe before'the latter is bent to follow the surface of the pipe. Thus this bending of the plate to fit dilierent pipes does not disturb the rivet or other connections between the bushing and the plate and the smaller the exhaust pipe and the necessary curvature oi. the plate 25, the more the edges of the aperture of the plate will pull down and bind against the sides of the bushing midway between the riveted connections. The bushing extends through the plate at least a suiiicient distance to enter the hole in the exhaust pipe. This hole may be of any desired shape or size, but is conveniently made by four cuts with an ordinary metal saw so as to leave a diamondshaped aperture 28 as shown particularly in Fig. (5. As the inner end of the bushing projects slightly into this aperture, any loosening of the plate or jarring which would tend to move the plate either circumferentially or lengthwise of the pipe is effectively prevented.

To form a substantially gas-tight seal between the coupling and the pipe, I provide an asbestos layer or sheet 29 of substantially the same size as the plate 25 and disposed between the latter and the exhaust pipe.

This is capable of a limited compression and is also fire-proof so that it forms a very effective substantially gas-tight oint.

The opposite ed es of the plate 25 are cured to the pipe by one or more U-shaped clamping bolts 30. These have their opposite ends threaded and extending through apertures in the opposite edges of the plate. Nuts 31 on the ends of the U-shaped clamp or clamps 30 may be tightened to hold. the parts firmly in position. Due to the flexibilit of the clamping bolts 30 and the plate a ti ht joint will be effected even thou h the exhaust pipe be of various sizes. To accommodate particularlv small pipes, the plate 25' is provided with additional holes 32 spaced inwardlv a short distance from the outer edges so that the bolts may be inserted throu h these when desired. If a sin le clamping bolt be employed as shown in Fin. 6, this en ages with the plate at points opposite the bushing 26 and tends to tighten the plate at the point where such tightening is most needed, namely, where it covers the aperture 28 in the exhaust pipe.

lVith this improved coupling, the device may be very easily and quickly attached to the exhaust pipe of any ordinary automobile engine and without requiring the skill of an eXpert mechanic. It is merely necessary to cut a hole 28 without any particular degree of accuracy and with no definite or predetermined shape but of sulhcient size to receive the end of the bushing and then apply the device and tighten the nuts 31. lhe de ice automatically locks itself against any shifting of position.

The device is preferably attached as shown in Fig. 1, that is, between the manifold 83 of the engine and the ordinary muf- Her 34-. The back pressure in the exhaust pipe gas by the muffler itself will be sullicient to sound the signal when the engine is running and the valve 14.- be opened. I have shown the si nal back near the muiiler although it will of course be evident that there is nothing essential in this position as it may be anywhere along the length of the pipe.

In some instances, I may extend the bushing 26 into the pipe to considerable distance and so form the inner end as to 0011- stitute a scoop 01' bathe to direct or guide the gases toward the signal or facilitate their flow toward it. As shown, the bushing is substantially cylindrical in form in the portion which extends through the opening 28' but has one side cut away so as to leave a semi-cylindrical baflle 35 facing in the direction from which the exhaust gas comes, that is, toward the engine and away from the niui'ller. W hen the valve is open, this will tend to deflect the as indicated in the arrows in F 2 but with the valve let closed it will not to any material extent interfere with the flow of the gas through the pipe to the mulller.

Although my improved device is particularly designed for use on the exhaust pipe ahead of the mulller it may be connected to the engineso as to be operated by the gas in the cylinder during the compression and evpansion strokes. When so used it may be connected with any form of coupling, elbow, or other union communicating with the interior of the cylinder. Merely as an example of such a mounting, I have shown in Fig. 8 a spark plug 40 having a. casing memher all similar to the usual spark plug casing but provided with a passage from one side of the outerend thereof to the interior of the spark plug which is in communication with the interior of the engine. A coupling member 42 may be provided with a socket at one end to receive the threaded nipple 21 of the signal and the other end may be threaded into a very much smaller aperture in the spark plug. I do not claim any novelty in the spark plug itself as plugs and passages of this kind have been used with cocks to serve primers. Although the same identical device ma be used either on the exhaust pipe or on the cyliiider, still the highest efliciency is obtained if the parts are designed with some regard for the pressure of the gases. A slightly diiTerent size or shape of parts ma serve better when the device is used on the cylinder than what worked best when used on the exhaust pipe but such change not necessary for the securing of satisfactory results.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An automobile warning signal including a sound chamber with a gas escape slot, and an opening adjacent thereto of fixed sizes and relative positions, a valve casing from which the slot leads, and a supply nipple leading to the valve casing, said chamber, said valve casing and said nipple being formed as a single casting, and a rotary valve in said valve casing normally closing said slot and preventing the escape of gas through said nipple to the atmosphere.

2. An automobile warning signal including a sound chamber, a threaded nipple and a valve casing therebetiveen, a rotary valve Within said casing for controlling the escape of gas through said nipple into operative relationship to said sound chamber, said nipple, valve casing, and sound chamber being formed of a single casting and having integral therewith a pair of oppositely disposed lugs, a coil spring engaging with one of said lugs and tending to rotate said valve in one direction, and a. lever rigid With said valve and engaging with the other stop to limit said rotation and normally hold the valve in closed position.

An automobile Warning signal, includ ing a. sound chamber having a irusto-conical valve seat, a connecting nipple and an interposed valve chamber all formed as a single casting, a frusto-conical valve Within said valve casing, a coil spring encircling said valve at the smaller end thereof and casing normally preventing rotation of said valve under the influence of said spring and holding the valve in closed position,

said stop also limiting the reverse rotation of said valve past a predetermined open position.

4. An automobile Warning signal including a sound chamber, a connecting nipple adapted to be connected to a source of gas supply under pressure, an interposed valve casing having a frusto-conical valve seat, a frusto-conical valve Within said valve casing and projecting'therefrom at each end, a coil spring encircling the projection at the smaller end of the valve and tending to pull the valve endWise to its seat and rotating it in one direction, an operating lever rigid with the opposite projecting portion of said valve, and a stop on said valve casing normally preventing rotation of said valve under the infiuenceof said spring and holding said valve in closed position.

5. An antomo'bile Warning signal including a sound chamber, a connecting nipple adapted to be connected to a source of gas supply under pressure, and an interposed valve casing, all formed of a single casting, a rotatable valve Within said valve casing and projecting from the opposite ends thereof, a coil spring encircling said valve at one end thereof and tending to rotate it in one direction, an operating lever on the opposite end of said valve, and a stop on said valve casing normally preventing rotation of said valve under the influence of said spring and holding the valve in closed position.

6. An automobile Warning signal includ ing a hollow approximately elliptical sound chamber having an opening in one side thereof, a connecting nipple extending substantially parallel to the major axis of the sound chamber and substantially tangential to one side thereof, a valve chamber interposed between said nipple and said sound chamber and having a slot for delivering gas at an angle to-the plane of said opening and approximately tangential to the sound chamber, a rotatable valve Within said valve casing normally covering said slot and preventing the escape of gas, a spring normally tending to rotate the valve in one direction, a stop for limiting the rotation of the valve to closed position, and means for rotating the valve against the action of the spring to open position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 10th day of January, A. D. 1919.

JULIUS H. KAESEN. 

